Court-house



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet, 1.

- D, BRYAN.

FENCE AND STAY.

No. 502,345.. Patented Aug. 1, 1893.

ll "mm (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

D. BRYAN.

5 FENCE AND STAY. N0. 502,345.- Patented Aug. 1, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DARIUS BRYAN, OF WASHINGTON COURT-HOUSE, OHIO.

FENCE AND STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 502,345, dated August1, .1893.

Application filed June 2,1892. Serial No. 485.2%. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DARIUS BRYAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington Court-House, in the county of Fayette and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences andStays; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to fences and its object is to enable a fence to beset up without digging a hole for each post and furthermore, to providea stay for a fence post or a fence wire which is quickly and easily setup, and which is firm and unyielding. A large part of the labor inbuilding a fence consists in digging post holes. Moreover, thedifficulty of properly anchoring and staying the posts is well known,and many expedients have been adopted for rendering these matters moreeasy of execution and more reliable in results.

My invention consists in a fence post and a stay for the same.

It also consists in an abutment or tension frame for a wire fence.

. It also consists in a method of anchoring a stay wire for fence postsor fences.

I set the posts on suitable foundations, pref erably flat stones, andbrace them by stay wires or guys, the ends of which are secured toblocks of suitable material, beveled off at the lower end to a wedgeshape and having the stay wire attached to its thin end and led up theadjacent inclined face of the block. When the block has been driven intothe ground, any strain put upon the wire tends to cant 0r overturn theblock and to jam it tightly in the hole, thereby forming a firm andunyielding anchor for the wire.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a fence embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 shows a fence post, and my improved stay attachedthereto and dropped into a hole in the ground. Fig. 3 shows the holefilled up and the position the block assumes when a strain is put uponthe wire.

In building a fence according to my invention, the posts D are set uponsuitable foundations, preferably fiat stones E, resting on the ground. Astay wire B is attached to the top of each post, preferably by strainingit over the top of the post, and its ends are carried away from the poston either side of the line of the fence, and firmly anchored in theground at a suitable distance from the post. A wire I) is then fastenedacross from one stay to the other at about midway of the length thereof.By twisting this wire a strain can be put upon the stays should theybecome slack by the settling of the postor otherwise.

The stays may be anchored in any suitable manner,but I prefer to use thedevice shown, consisting of a wedge-shaped block A secured to the end ofthe wire and buried in the earth. The block A may be round, square or ofany suitable cross section. Its length should not be too great, but fromtwo to four times its diameter according to the nature of the soil. Thelower end of the block is preferably beveled off forming an inclinedsurface a and a wedge-shaped point. The stay Wire 13 is attached to thiswedge-shaped end and is led up along the inclined face a and theadjacent vertical side of the block.

A hole 0 may be dug, bored, driven or otherwise formed to receive theblock A, or the block may be forced into the ground by a rod and mallet,forming its own hole. The hole may be vertical, as shown, or at anangle, as indicated in dotted lines. When the block has been placed asufficient distance below the surface of the ground, it is covered withearth well tamped. A strong pull on the wire, tends to turn the blockinto the position in which it appears in Fig. 3, jamming it firmly andirremovably in the hole.

When a line of posts has been set, the panels can be formed of wire, asshown, or of plank or of pickets, or in any other suitable way. If ofwire the anchor blocks A can be used to secure the ends of the strandsbefore beginning to stretch them along the line of posts. I preferhowever to use the device shown in Fig. 1, in which a post D is setfirmly in the ground, and its top is connected by a strut D with the topof the next post D. A diagonal wire stay B is carried from the top ofthe posts D to or near the bottom of the post D. The two posts, thestrut, andthe stay form astrong stiff abutment to withstand the tensionof the fence wire F. This abutment or frame may be used when the fencepanels are made of other material than wire if desired. It may be usedalso when a corner is reached, or a gate opening is to be left 111 thefence. Or, a post may be set in the ground, and stayed with wire 3, asshown in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. An anchoring device for fence wires, consisting of ashort blockhaving a wedge-shaped lower end, and a wire fastened to said end and ledup alongside the block-substantially as described.

2. An anchoring device for fence-wires, consisting of a block A havingits lower end beveled off to form an inclined surface a, and a wire B,fastened to the sharp lower end of the block and led up said inclinedface and the adjacent vertical side of the block, substantially asdescribed.

3. The mode of anchoring a rope or wire In the earth which consists infastening it to a comparatively short block at one end of the longeraxis thereof, placing the block entirely below the surface of theground, with that end lowermost to which the rope or wire is attached,and with the rope or wire lying lengthwise of the block, and thenpartially upsetting the block by putting a strain on the rope or wireand thereby increasing the surface which resists the strain,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DARIUS BRYAN.

Witnesses:

FRANK A. CHAFFIN, C. A. CAVE.

